Partners In Grace
1st Installment – excerpts from the book Partners in Grace (by Larry Easton)
A Solution to Our Problem
The frailties of the human condition . . . we’re all-too-familiar with them. Those unfortunate flaws which have been mankind’s lot since Adam’s fall. From nagging, silly and inconvenient, though not really destructive habits, to darker, more troubling behaviors which resist our best efforts to unseat them, human nature’s downside often reveals its existence in our lives; playing havoc with our best intentions and resolutions.
Especially because we are Christ’s, believers find the inconsistency between what we aspire to be and what we sometimes appear to be, frustrating, puzzling – and discouraging. For though we have received Christ Jesus as Lord and so much has changed, we continue to witness this struggle in our lives, and in the Church, suggesting that while we are very much “His workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus,” (Eph. 2:10) we are also, clearly, products of a fallen world.
Again, it is this deep, internal struggle between the “new man” and that older edition of ourselves which causes us such frustration, and sometimes shame, especially when our humanity becomes painfully obvious. Why do we seem, at times, so powerless against these impulses? More to the point, why should we be so shocked when they’re revealed?
Why also can the Church’s reaction to sin disclosed, sometimes appear clumsy, unhelpful and even counterproductive? Is there some crucial, empowering element missing from our practical theologies which if recovered, might offer help? Is there a better, more effective manner with which to respond to the reality of the human condition; one which encourages openness and fearless honesty as well as real change? One which offers an irresistible witness of God’s love to an observing world?
Let’s examine Jesus’ approach to the problem of the human condition.
A Remarkable Response
In one of Jesus’ most celebrated encounters, a woman is suddenly thrust before Him. She is, He is told, an adulteress, deserving of death to be brutally meted out through stoning. Challenging Him with this dilemma are the religious leaders of that day:
1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2And early in the morning He came again into the temple area, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began teaching them.
3 Now the scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in the act of adultery, and after placing her in the center of the courtyard, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”
6 Now they were saying this to test Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.7 When they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 Now when they heard this, they began leaving, one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman where she was, in the center of the courtyard. 10 And straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on do not sin any longer.” John 8:1-11 (NASB)
Hoping to entrap Jesus, they challenge Him with what they are certain is an intractable dilemma, one designed to turn the multitude against Him. Would Jesus agree to her death by stoning, an act certain to turn His followers against Him (and create tensions with Roman authorities), or would He instead choose to reject the demands of the Law, appearing lawless and undermine His credibility as a reliable teacher of truth?
Jesus’ response is both revealing and instructive. Rather than respond to their question, remarkably and unexpectedly, He chose instead to stoop and begin writing in the sand. His silent indifference spoke eloquently and powerfully to those gathered. “I’ve no interest in your accusations,” Jesus seemed to say. Though always attuned to human need, toward those seeking Him, Jesus, instead, fell deaf to those eager to reveal another’s sin. Especially efforts in disclosing another’s sin for personal advantage, to shame another, and with no offer or hope of redemption.
Finally rising, He silenced the accusers, undoing their scheme by merely exposing their own humanity; their own human frailty and fallenness. “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her”.
Challenging them to self-examination, Jesus confronted them with their hypocrisy. Now confronted publicly with their own fallen and conflicted states, forced to acknowledge the reality of their own humanity, the woman’s accusers began to vanish one by one, leaving her at last alone with Jesus.
The manner in which He deals with the woman speaks volumes to us today. Jesus said simply, “Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?”
Imagine her stunned surprise; the relief and gratefulness which must have washed over her as Jesus spoke. This unexpected turn of events offered her a reprieve and hope. As Jesus spoke, shame – that haunting specter of her sin lost its hold. No longer defined her by her sin (a dynamic which would forge stronger still the chains binding her to her faults), shame gave way to a powerful new reality and context within which her life could be redefined. The effort to define her by her sinful behavior had lost its sway. In its place, Jesus offered a new narrative; one centered in a reality shaped by redemption, and by His love and compassion.
Jesus offered more than a stay of execution. He offered freedom from her sin; liberation from her weakness. “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin nor more”. The One whose opinion mattered most signaled His power over sin. Was He merely admonishing her to abandon the practice of adultery? Or was He offering strength to resist and forsake the practice. Was He offering a new identity? I fear we often read in this remark only a reproving command; however, much more was at work here than is at first apparent.
The words of Jesus expressed more than meaning; they conveyed power. When He spoke to those demonically tormented, they were freed. When He addressed disease, healing came. Even the elements obeyed His word. Consequently, His words “Go and sin no more” were more than an admonition. Though, to be certain, they offered correction, they were also life. He announced emancipation. As He spoke, a liberating dynamic infused her life.
She undoubtedly experienced what Paul, the Apostle, would later describe as, “God . . . working in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil 2:13). What had once defined her, no longer held her captive.
In the space of a single encounter, Jesus revolutionized our understanding of sin, the human condition, and redemption. He not only laid bare the hypocrisy of self-righteousness but lovingly embraced human frailty and offered with assurance, a way forward.
Coming in our next installment – What About Today?
